Channel multiplier of aluminum oxide produced anodically

ABSTRACT

Microchannel plates prepared from anodized aluminum layers etched to increase the pore volume to approximately 50 percent and then treated to exhibit suitable electrical properties for use as a channel plate.

United States Patent [50] Field olSearch 313/103.

[56] Relerences Citedi UNITED STATES PATENTS I 2,708,726 5/1955 Atherton 313/103 3,244,922 4/1966 Wolfgang 313/103 X 3,440,470 4/1969 Decker 313/103 3,458,745 7/l969 Shoulders 313/104 2,898,499 8/1959 Sternglass et al. 313/105 X Primary Examiner- Robert Segal Attorney-Lawrence i. Field ABSTRACT: Microchannel plates prepared from anodized aluminum layers etched to increase the pore volume to approximately 50 percent and then treated to exhibit suitable electrical properties for use as a channel plate.

(Holes Enlarged) PATENTEDUEC 71m 3526,2133

F I Anodize Detach Anodized Layer From Base impregnate With Solurion Of Caustic ln Alcohol Immerse In Water Heal In H 600 C.,One Hour Attach Electrodes Eugene Wainer Selw n H. Rose Theodore M. Harkulich ATTORNEY CHANNEL MULTIPLIER OF ALUMINUM OXIDE PRODUCED ANODICALLY This invention relates to a channel plate and to the method by which said plate is prepared.

As is known in the art, an electron multiplying channel plate is a device having a number of parallel straight sided passages extending completely through the thickness of the plate whereby incident electrons which enter the channels increase in number during the traversal of the channel through the creation of secondary electrons arising from wall collisions. An electrical potential musts, of course, be applied across the plate in order to provide an electron drift velocity down the channel and accelerate the electrons to energies over the first crossover potential. The operation of this structure is described in detail in the Rev. Sci, Instr., 33, 761 (1962). In addition to the requirement that the passages be straight and parallel to one another, another requirement is that the hole area be at least 20 percent of the surface area of said plate and that the ratio of length to channel diameter be in the range 30-150zl.

The present invention is directed to the preparation of such plates by a novel technique in which the pores formed in an anodized surface are controllably processed to yield microchannel plates with the desired geometries. The anodizing of aluminum results in porous coatings in which the pore diameters are reasonably uniform, with the pores extending through the entire surface. The films generally run from a few microns to several mils in thickness. Similar films may be produced by the anodization of titanium, zirconium or tantalum. However, the technology of aluminum anodization is considerably more advanced and hence the present invention will be described with specific reference to aluminum although it is applicable to other metals.

Techniques for anodizing aluminum and aluminum base a1- loys are well known and are described, for example, in an article appearing in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society, lOONo. 9, 441 (Sept. 1953) et seq. and in other publications in the same journal. As described in that article, it is also possible to detach the oxide layer from the aluminum base by an amalgamation technique. The article also describes how various pore sizes are produced in the oxide coating.

Another recent article in the same Journal, Vol. 1 15, page 618 et seq. describes the cross section of such a detached anodic film. As described in the literature, in order to produce an anodized coating, having the desired perpendicular pores, pure aluminum is made the anode of an acid bath which may be phosphoric, sulfuric, oxalic or sulfamic acid. A solid barrier layer of aluminum oxide is first produced on the surface of the aluminum which grows in accordance with the voltage imposed at the rate of l 1 to 14 per bolt applied.

The pore diameters are determined by the electrolyte used and the temperature of operation. Up to about 140 volts the pore-to'pore spacingappears to be determined by voltage used and increases approximately 20 per volt as reported in the 1953 publication. The thickness of the coating produced is a function of temperature, voltage, current density and concentration for a given electrolyte. The thickness increases with increasing current density, voltage and] electrolyte concentration and decreases with temperature. An additional variable is the purity of the aluminum with the coating characteristics varying when alloys are used. Thus it is possible to produce porous films to exact structural specifications by rigid control of the operating conditions.

The present invention includes removing, mounting, and modifying these A1 0 films to produce channel structures having the geometry required of channel plates. Specifically channel plates have been fabricated using such films after they have been processed to give center-to-center pore spacings of about 0.8 micron, percent open area, and length-to-diameter ratios of about 80 to 1. Such plates have a theoretical resolution exceeding 500 line-pairs/mm.

Briefly, the process of the present invention comprises the steps shown schematically in the drawing accompanying this application, FIG. 1 being in the fiaiuie'bfifiowfief; and FIG. 2 and 3 being schematic fragmentary sections through the channel plate, illustrating the plate configuration of two different stages of its manufacture. The manufacturing, process begins with commercially available aluminum foil or sheet of any analyses, alloy 1 100 (99 percent +Al.) or alloy 5052 being two alloys which have been used.

Alcoa aluminum foil 5 mil thick 1 100 grade 99 percent Al. was anodized using aqueous oxalic acid in concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 3 percent. The lower concentrations have higher electrical resistivity and thus provided for the use of higher applied voltages. The minimum electrode separation used was 6.5 inches since any closer distance reduced the effectiveness of the agitation and cooling. Using maximum 12 inches) electrode separation and a 0,05 to 0.1 percent acid bath, voltages as high as 350 volts were used. Current densities between 15 and 150 amplft were used. This was accomplished by regulating the area of the aluminum sheet which also effected an increase in voltage. In each case a heavy gauge sheet of stainless steel was used as the cathode.

Through use ofhigh current densities, low bath temperatures, and extremely good agitation, thick films with increased center-to-center spacings were prepared, as compared with those in the prior art.

Table I Summarizes the anodizing conditions for producing films with thicknesses of from 10 to microns.

The general appearance of the films was excellent. Examination under the microscope showed them to be clean, crack and hole free, and uniform in nature. The thin films (N 10 microns) TABLE L-ANODIZING CONDITIONS Bath Oxalic acid Current Film Time temp. cone. (wt. Voltag density thickness (min) 0.) percent) D-C (amps/IL (microns?J 6D 22 3 so 15 1 22 3 26 2 51 22 a 65 32. 7 1 20 22 a as 32 14. 5 so 22 a 67 6 60 4 3 28 30 90 4 3 27. 5 20 60 12 3 57 50 60 20 3 65 20 28 68 21 3 55 11. 5 18 60 21 3 80 27. 5 38 60 22 3 75 44 45 45 22 3 75 72 33 6D 23 3 112 56 48 60 22 3 125 28. 5 16 90 22 3 90 28 41 45 15 3 so 28 36 10 15 1. 5 81 3O 10 13 1. 5 135 78 28 80 14 1. 5 136 27 41 75 15 1. 5 148 37. 5 44 70 15 I. 5 125 28 50 45 12 1 198 24 42. 5 20 15 1 124 28 17. 5

gamation with the resulting Hg until the circular film floated free. The floating film was removed with a spatulalike tool by raising it under the film and lifting it out of the solution. While on the tool the film was rinsed with water, then washed in a percent nitric acid bath to remove any traces of mercury salts.

Bath Oxalic acid Current Film Time temp. cone. (wt. Voltage. density thickness Run 7 (min) 0.) percent) D-C (s ps/ft?) (microns) 45 "H 12 1 m w '75 74 12 1 113 23 60 15 1 115 28.5 58 13 1 158 37. 7 28 14 1 157 46 30 40 12 1 140 53 60 1s 3 132 50 55 82 5 3 135 25 7 3 131 52 25 7 3 125 56 -30 131 11 3 135 27 65 90 10 3 120 27 45-50 30 14 3 120 56 3540 37 15 3 120 56 40-42 30 13 3 120 66 32-35 40 23 3 117 56 40 10 2 133 54 42.5 40 20 2 120 54. 5 45 14 2 123 23 45 60 16 2 130 27 50 60 15 2 123 27.5 42.5 30 19 0. 1 296 19. 6 7O 13 0. 1 332 20 32. 5 120 10 0. 2 314 17. 5 37. 5 120 4 0. 5 246 19. 6 40 105 s 247 21. 4 120 6 0. 5 190 19. 6 23 s 0.25 200 34. 2 15 s 0. 25 213 20 12. 5 52 6 0. 25 240 20 120 3 0. 25 167 10 180 3 0. 25 155 10 33 10 0. 1 302 19. 6 125 30 8 0.2 270 20 20 120 6 0. 2 262 11. 4 37. 5 60 4 0. 2 300 20 25 11 1 165 29. 2 40-60 10 1 167 19. 3 42. 5 37 7 0. 2 250 20 20 120 8 0. 2 257 20 32-37 04 10 0. 2 267 20 25 123 s 0. 2 319 19. 0 25 167 4 330 14 27. 5 "67"5 0.75 fi' "4""""30f5 60 5 0. 05 324 6 60 3 0. 75 323 15 15. 2 120 s 0.1 320 17 20. 3 60 8 0.1 316 17 17. 8 60 7 0.1 322 15 15. 2 3 0.1 345 10 10 7 0. 25 253 20 27. 9 60 5 0. 25 163 40 67 4 0. 25 200 40 3s. 1 110 2 0. 75 137 13 33 60 10 0.02 305 60 50 00 15 0. 015 450 75 40 120 --25 0. 01 500 00 55 1 50 mil construction grade aluminum. 2 5052 alloy. 3 Titanium potassium oxalate in bath. 4 Back side covered with aluminum foil. 5 Back side covered with masking tape. 8 Water-ethylene glycol media.

were tfansparem with a Slight tint of gold color- AS the Finally the film was washed several times in distilled water and thickness increased the films become less transparent and the 50 placed on a t flon Slab to oven dry at 1 0 f at least 1 gold coloring becomes deeper, with very thick films (60 h microns) having brown g- The Colo! is due to Small The as-formed 10 micron thick channel plates were approxtraees of the alloy f the P Hlgh Voltage films imately 5 percent open and and had length-to-diameter ratios (above volts) had g y hg- 5 5 of approximately 500. Preliminary tests showed that they were ht one aspect of the Present lhvehtloh, the anodized film of not useful as channel plates in this geometry. it was therefore the P art 15 treated to enlarge the P area y bflhgmg ah necessary to etch open the channel plates to increase the open etchant into Contact Wl h he pores a o g Crime eXteht area and to reduce the length-to-diameter ratios for the pores. while at the same time deferring the action of the etchant until It o ld a e that im le immersion of the hannel plates it can be effective along the entire length Of the pore SO that 60 in an etchant for A120 3 should result in opening of the chanthe p r. if ny. is not accentuated by the etching process nels. Because of diffusion problems, such treatment did not once it starts. appreciably increase the diameter of the channels in the interi- After the ahodlzthg was C0Thpleted the Product was Cut Into or of the channel plate and hence another technique for open- Smahet' Pleces for Subsequent Processing A elrete 0f the ing the channel plate and hence another technique for opendeslred diameter was scribe hr ug h anOdlZed aye Into ,5 ing the channels had to be devised. it was found that the hole the ub trate by use of a stylus and template. The anodlzed area could be increased to the desired extent by impregnating sheet was cut into disc that were sllghtly larger than the the channel plate with an etchant that is not reactive under the scribed circle. These discs were immedlately placed in a satuimpregnation conditions. Then the channel plate was removed rated aqueous solution of Hgcl The l min m Was slo ly from the bath of etchant. The etchant was then activated by dissolved by the solution by reaction i h g l y amal- 70 use of another chemical constituent that is not in itself an etchant but rather serves to catalyze the reaction between the etchant and the Al O surface.

The pore enlarging etching was accomplished by placing the channel plate in a saturated solution of sodium hydroxide in ethyl alcohol for an hour in order to thoroughly impregnate and fill the pores. Other alkalies including KOH, LiOH, and even organic alkalies such as tetramethylammonium hydroxides or tetraphenylammonium hydroxide may be also utilized. The plate was then removed from the alcoholic solution and After plates with satisfactory electrical properties had been made, electrodes were attached to the same in the usual way to complete the channel plate.

By the procedure described above, the pores in the laced in distilled water. An immediate reaction took lace as 5 ori inall anodized material have been enlar ed from between P g y E evidenced by vigorous bubble formation. The extent of 2 to between mlcl'oh t0 micron, the hole area etching was determined by a comparison of the channel plate in the layer has been increased from about l 50 P density before and after etching, typical results being given in Gem and is some Cases as g as 70 Percent, the lehgflHO' Table I] and Table III. The etching process results in structures diameter ratiohas been r ced I0 about 504001 h n i h open areas ranging f approximately 20 w 70 percent the higher voltages are utilized the center-to-center spacing of depending on conditions. h p r to a rang r .4 t L0 mi ron- V M V FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the cro e ti n f an It will be seen that the etching procedure involves first conanodic film after it has been deta hed from the un n di d tacting and filling the pores with an etchant which is carried in base metal, and FIG. 3 shows the ame film ft i h b 1 5 a solvent in which it is relatively inert and then is brought into subjected to the pore-enlarging etching. contact with a liquid in which the etchant actively etches the It l be n that the barrier layer adjacent to and below pores. The etchant should be at least as strong as caustic. The th b t f h pores h b d, n f h removal preferred etchant is alchoholic caustic, later activated by addihaving taken place while the plate was immersed in alcoholic of watercaustic and the remainder having been removed during the 0 The h nnel plates which were prepared by ano izing at subsequent immersion in water. from 400500 volts have channel diameters (after etching to The as produced" channel plates were found to have a 50 percent open area) on the order of 0.7 to 0.8 micron and bulk resistivity of approximately 2 X10 ohm-cm. For practirange from ratios of length-to-diame'ter from about 50:1 to cal application the channel plates should have output 8 0:l. These channel plates have been operated for long time TABLE II.CONTROLLED ETCHING Weight (mg) Thickness 4) Density Plate Percent Batch Diameter Before After Before After Before After density N0. (inch) etching etching etching etching etching etching change 1 0.3 5.0 10.5 0. 5 1. 75 1.04 41 1 9. 5 5. 5 10. 6 9.4 1. 77 1. 16 35 1 9. 7 5. 7 10.5 9.5 1. 78 1.18 34 2 V 0. 2 6. 4 10.3 10.3 2.30 1.60 30 0. 1 7. 1 10.3 10.3 2. 28 1. 78 22 n 9.1 7. 5 10.3 10.2 2. 30 1. so 17 0. 2 6. 3 10.4 10.3 2. 28 1. 58 31 9. 0 6. 2 10.2 10.2 2. 28. 1. 57 31 3 /3 9. l 7. 7 10. 2 l0. 0 2. 30 1. 98 14 V 8. 7 7.0 10.0 10. 0 2. 24 1.80 8.7 7. 5 10. 0 10. 0 2. 24 1. 03 14 TABLE III.CONTROLLED ETCHING, THICK PLATES Weight (mg.) Thickness t) Density M Percent Anodrzlng Diameter Before After Before After Before After density Run No voltage (inch) etching etching etching etching etching etching change 11.5 7. 8 28.1 27.0 2. 56 1. 80 29. 7 V 11.2 7. 0 28. 0 27.0 2. 50 1. 83 26.8 16. 9 7. 7 41.0 39.0 2. 57 1. 24 51. 17.1 11.4 41. 2 41.0 2. 59 1. 74 32. 8 M5 10. 2 7. 3 43. 5 43. 0 2. 76 1.05 62. 0 245 21. 3 13. 8 47. 5 47. 0 2. 8 1. 83 34. 6 1 64.0 26. 3 42.0 37. 5 3. 02 1. 33 56.0 946 12. 6 4. 2 30. 0 27. 5 2. 62 1. 05 60. 0 %2 18. 7 8. 3 45. 7 40.6 2. 20 1. 42 38. 0 %2 10. 1 2. 7 25.0 15. 0 2. 26 0. 05 58.0 %2 22. 2 10.8 42. 5 40.0 2. 42 1. 50 48. 8 962 16. 5 7. 2 37. 5 27.5 2. 46 1. 4s 40. 5 %2 11.7 5. 1 25. 0 20. 0 2.62 1. 42 45. 8 %2 13. 3 6. 6 25.0 22. 5 2. 97 1. 64 44. 6 %2 13. 4 7. 4 25.0 22. 5 2. 90 1. 84 3s. 5 %2 16. 6 0. 5 30. 5 30. 5 3. 84 1. 74 43. 0 942 7. 5 2. 8 15. 2 12. 7 2. 76 1. 23 55. 5 %2 11.8 7. 8 20.3 12.8 3. 2. 48 23. 6 %2 10.8 2. 5 17. 8 12.7 3. 07 1. 10 64. 0 342 13. 8 3. 5 27. 9 22. 0 2. 77 0. 85 65!. 0 942 17. 1 8. 7 35. 6 33. 0 2. 68 1. 47 45. 0

currents near 10 amps. The strip current, determining the upper limit of the output current, must therefore lie in the region of 10 "amps which corresponds to a bulk resistivity of approximately 2 Xl0' ohm-cm at 1000 volts. It was found that heating the plates in hydrogen at 600 C. for about 1 hour increased substantially the number of plates having strip currents of the desired magnitude. No noticeable reduction appeared to take place below 600 C. After minutes at 600 C, significant reduction had occurred with better results being obtained after 1 hour. Plates so treated for 2 hours were generally too conductive. However it was possible to reoxidize these plates by exposure to air at 600 C. for 30 minutes.

Temperatures between about 550 C. and 700 C. can be used for this step provided the time of treatment is adjusted, higher temperatures requiring shorter times and conversely.

periods at voltages on the order of 2000 volts. The electron multiplication factors vary from plate to plate but are generally on the order of to 10,000 at 2000 volts.

The electron multiplication at various operating voltages are enhanced by improving the secondary emissive properties of the channel plate. This may be accomplished by several different procedures. The first general procedure consists of incorporating metal ions such as magnesium, beryllium, titanium, manganese, boron, vanadium, silver, zinc, and the like into the anodic stricture. This may be accomplished by utiliz' ing suitable alloys of these metals as the anodizing substrate. The anodized film will then consist in part of these metal oxides interpersed in the aluminum oxide rmatrix. Alternatively appropriate salts of these metal ions may be added to the anodizing bath. They are then incorporated into the films dur- The second procedure involves coating the channel walls of completely fabricated channel plates with appropriate secondary emitters. This may be accomplished by placing the channel plates in solutions of appropriate metal salts such as the salts of the alkaline and alkaline earth metals, magnesium beryllium or barium salts and then firing the channel plate at elevated temperatures. Alternatively the channel coating may be introduced by vacuum evaporation or by decomposition in situ of appropriate volatile metal compounds followed by firing at elevated temperatures.

These channel plates with enhanced secondary emission exhibit electron multiplication factors ranging from 100 to 10,000 at voltages on the order of 500-1000 volts. At 2000 volts the electron multiplication factors are all well in excess of We claim:

1. An electrical channel plate comprising a layer of porous aluminum oxide produced anodically and having parallel straight sided pores extending through said channel plate, said plate being between about 20 and microns thick and having center to center pore spacing of between about 0.3 to 2.0 microns thick and having at least about 20 percent open area, channel diameters between about 0.25 micron and 1.5 microns, the channel diameters and layer thickness being related so that the length-to-diameter ratio of said pores is 300to 200, the surfaces of said pores being doped to enhance the secondary emissivity of said aluminum oxide so that it exhibits an electron multiplication factor of between 100 and 10,000 at 2000 volts.

2. The channel plate of claim 1 in which the material in said pores includes a compound of a metal selected from the group consisting of alkali metals and alkaline earth metals.

3. The channel plate of claim 1 wherein the channel plate is 50 microns thick, the channel diameters are 0.8 micron and the open area is approximately 50 percent 

1. An electrical channel plate comprising a layer of porous aluminum oxide produced anodically and having parallel, straight sided pores extending through said channel plate, said plate being between about 20 and 100 microns thick and having center to center pore spacing of between about 0.3 to 2.0 microns, at least about 20 percent open area, channel diameters between about 0.25 micron and 1.5 microns, the channel diameters and layer thickness being related so that the length-to-diameter ratio of said pores is 30 to 200, the surfaces of said pores being doped to enhance the secondary emissivity of said aluminum oxide so that it exhibits an electron multiplication factor of between 100 and 10,000 at 2000 volts.
 2. The channel plate of claim 1 in which the material in said pores includes a compound of a metal selected from the group consisting of alkali metals and alkaline earth metals.
 3. The channel plate of claim 1 wherein the channel plate is 50 microns thick, the channel diameters are 0.8 micron and the open area is approximately 50 percent. 